


Spellbound in 8-Bit

by sparrow30



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha Yuri Plisetsky, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Artificial Intelligence, M/M, Not-So-Intelligent Spaceships, Omega Otabek Altin, Sci-Fi, Soulmates, Space Opera, but not what you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-02-10 21:07:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrow30/pseuds/sparrow30
Summary: Yuri just wants to get through his rut and get off this planet as quickly as possible.Unfortunately his ship has other ideas.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was an AU mix-it-up challenge that kind of stuck with me - thanks to findyouranchorpoint for the prompt!
> 
> It's a one-shot for now but if there's enough interest I'm considering turning it into a series!
> 
> Prompt words were: Space Opera, Soulmates, Omegaverse.

Yuri docks at Gamma 153 with just over an hour to spare, cursing the asteroid field that had delayed his arrival by almost a full six hours. He knew he’d been cutting it fine, and now it’s going to be seriously touch and go whether he can get to the House in time.

 

His ship, Hades, groans and whines around him, physically manifesting his distress, and Yuri pats the console distractedly as he fumbles at the nape of his neck to unplug himself from the internal system. “I know, I know,” he mutters, “I’m not loving this any more than you are.”

 

He eventually unplugs himself and powers down Hades, whispering soothing endearments to the ship as he prepares both of them for being planetside for the next few days.

 

Gamma 153 is a bustling port, filled to the brim with locals and travelers alike. Yuri throws some coppers at the nearest ship-hand, growling at the young boy to keep an eye on his ship, or else. He doesn’t know if it’s his trademark scowl, or the fact that he’s radiating pre-rut hormones, but the boy yelps and scampers away almost immediately.

 

By the time Yuri reaches the nearest House, he’s clammy with sweat, and can feel the itch of his rut threatening to erupt beneath his skin. The Beta on duty takes one look at him and ushers him immediately into an available room, where Yuri spends the next three days lost to the haze of his rut, fucking every toy available and only surfacing to inhale the food and drink that the staff push through the small flap cut into the door.

 

He emerges on the fourth day exhausted and barely sated. It would be so much easier, he thinks, and not for the first time, if he just stayed planetside in the lead up to his rut. Maybe he could even find an Omega to spend it with next time. But that has never been Yuri’s style, not since he first bonded with Hades and took to the skies at the tender age of sixteen. The less time spent planetside the better, as far as he’s concerned, and if that means he has to suffer through an unsatisfactory rut every few months, then so be it.

 

He’s still feeling groggy as he pays up at the front desk, and barely reacts in time as he turns and almost hits the man standing behind him.

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Yuri mutters, nose crinkling at the unfamiliar smell. Omega, only just post-heat. He takes a second to look over the man; about his height with a stocky build and dark brown hair, shaved underneath in a style he knows is popular around these planets. His eyes are what most draw Yuri’s attention though, dark and pensive and filled with a tiredness that Yuri knows all too well.

 

“Rough one?” he asks before he remembers he doesn’t care.

 

“Aren’t they all?” the omega says with a wry smile.

 

Yuri has no idea how to respond - it’s been so long since he’s been around anybody he actually wanted to hold a conversation with - so he mumbles another rushed apology and makes a quick exit from the House.  

 

He heads straight back to the port, wanting to be in the air as soon as possible. He feels unclean having been planetside for so long, like the natural gravity has gotten under his fingernails and up his nose.

 

“Hey boy, did you miss me?” he says as he boards Hades, patting the dash fondly as he settles in the pilot’s seat. He picks up the heavy cable that connects him to the ship’s internals, and plugs himself in with a practiced ease.

 

“Okay, let’s get going,” he mutters, closing his eyes as he loses himself in the ship’s inner workings.

 

A whine, and then a thunk, and Yuri is jolted abruptly back into his body. He frowns down at the console, trying to decipher the sinking feeling that has started to form in his gut.

 

Hades doesn’t want to leave this port.

 

He doesn’t understand, this has never happened before. It’s why they bonded so well in the first place; both human and machine desperate to leave their crummy home planet and never look back.

 

“Hey, what is it?” Yuri asks, patting the dashboard again as he nudges at the machine with his consciousness. “What’s got you so worked up hmm?”

 

He can feel it now. Not just a desire to stay, but a desire to _find_. Something is calling out to his ship, to both of them, and Yuri knows that he’s not leaving this planet until he finds out what.

 

Hades starts humming, a low, insistent throb that Yuri can somehow feel in his bones and hear outside at the same time. Slowly he unplugs himself, and exits back onto the main walkway, following the sounds as it vibrates all the way through his skeleton.

 

The noise takes him across the length of the entire port, stopping just in front of a small ship and _oh_ , she’s perfect. A carbon copy of Yuri’s own ship, right down to the bodywork detailing that he had lovingly commissioned last time he was on Delta 727.

 

A head pokes out of the ship’s main hatch, and Yuri’s heart stutters as he recognizes the man from this morning. The man frowns and swings down to the ground, dusting off his hands as he walks over to where Yuri is still standing dumb.

  
“So you’re the reason Persephone here didn’t want to leave today,” the man says, voice matter of fact, and Yuri can only stare at him in shock.

 

He’s heard of ship-to-ship bonding, of course he has, but he’s never actually seen it happen. He especially never thought it would happen to Hades, happen to _him_.

 

The man pauses, giving Yuri a chance to respond. When it becomes apparent that Yuri’s brain has taken an indefinite leave of absence he smiles and holds out a hand to shake. “The name’s Otabek,” he says, “Would you like to come aboard and have a drink while we work out what to do with these idiot ships of ours?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I'm back! The feedback for my first chapter was so lovely and so positive my brain couldn't help but come up with more content, so here we are!
> 
> This is probably going to come out more as a 'snapshots in time' series rather than anything more linearly coherent, and I'm also kind of flying by the seat of my pants with this so I can't make any promises as to quality, but I'm having fun writing and I hope you equally enjoy reading!
> 
> If anybody has any requests for things they'd like to see in this 'verse, hit me up in the comments and I'll see what I can do!

“So we’re agreed,” Yuri clarifies for what must be the fifth time as he emerges blinking from Persephone’s hull an hour later. “We do one run together, just one.”

 

“Gamma 153 to Prime 77. No more, no less.” Otabek repeats dutifully, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. Yuri has a sneaking suspicion the other man might be teasing him.

 

“Right. Good. Glad we got that sorted.” Yuri shifts his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other, unsure where to go from here.

 

Otabek’s mouth quirks into another one of those not-smiles as he lifts his arm to tap a series of buttons on his gauntlet. “Here, let me give you Persephone’s identity codes.” He holds out his hand for Yuri to shake.

 

Yuri looks distastefully down at the proffered limb. He knows that gauntlet contact is the way most Captains exchange ship information - a declaration of fellowship or a show of bravado depending on who you ask - but Yuri hates the practice. Pursing his lips he lifts his own gauntlet and submits the command to accept the codes over-the-air instead. A quick hum followed by a sharp beep, and Yuri sees the sequence of numbers flash up on his console.

 

“Got them,” Yuri says, quickly flinging Hades’ details back at Otabek without making eye contact. “I don’t like small talk, so don’t clog up my channel.”

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it." The timbre of Otabek’s voice is doing strange things to Yuri’s insides. He doesn’t know if he wants to jump the man or punch him.

 

It’s probably just a hangover from his rut, or the fumes of the planet making him delirious, or maybe even gravity messing with his stomach. Whatever the reason, it’s high time he leaves this useless hunk of rock.

 

“I’ll meet you just outside of atmo,” he says sharply. “Make sure you keep up. Hades doesn’t like to hang around.”

 

He doesn’t wait for a response before turning and walking rapidly down the gangway back to Hades. And he _definitely_ doesn’t hear a soft chuckle from Otabek as the other man returns to his ship.

 

* * *

 

“Damn it!” Yuri throws his tin mug petulantly against the wall, only just managing to duck out of the way as it swiftly rebounds back at him. “Fuck everything in this shitty, good-for-nothing universe!”

 

He knew there was something he had meant to buy while he was planetside, but between the delays getting to the House, and then all the drama with Hades, it had completely slipped his mind.

 

And now here he is, faced with the horrifying reality that he’s all out of coffee, and will be for _weeks_ until they reached Prime 77. He honestly doesn’t know how he’s going to survive.

 

“Fuck!” He exclaims once more for good measure, glaring at the coffee machine sitting innocently in the corner of his small kitchen, like it’s personally responsible for his predicament.

 

“Hades!” he yells, poking the closest wall to him viciously. “Why didn’t you remind me we were all out of coffee?”

 

Hades simply groans and creaks, and Yuri starts to genuinely consider murder. He doesn’t even care who.

 

It’s at that exact moment that he receives the hail from Persephone, and he’s answering with a sharp “What!” before he remembers that he was planning on ignoring the other ship as much as possible.

 

Otabek’s face appears on the nearest comm screen, looking a combination of amused and confused. “Hello to you too,” he says far too calmly for Yuri’s liking.

 

Yuri groans, rubbing at his temple. This is exactly _not_ what he needs right now. “Hello,” he bites out between clenched teeth.

 

There’s a pause, long enough for Yuri to look up from where he’s been staring detemindly at his feet. Otabek is simply watching him, expression indecipherable. Eventually Yuri exhales a large huff of air, suddenly very tired indeed. “What do you want, Otabek?”

 

“I know you said no smalltalk,” Otabek starts, and Yuri has to stifle the groan that immediately forms in his throat, “But I picked up a batch of my favourite local coffee on G153, and wondered if you wanted to join me for a cup.”

 

Yuri stares unblinking at the comms screen, wondering if the lack of caffeine has already started making him delirious. Otabek frowns and reaches up to tap at the screen from his side. “Hello...Yuri...you still there?”

 

“Coffee?” Yuri practically whispers, “You have coffee?”

 

“Not just any coffee,” Otabek says with a smile. “The best coffee this side of the astro belt.”

 

“Have...did you bug my comms?”

 

Otabek frowns, expression confused. “Why would I have done that?”

 

Yuri huffs, swiftly deciding he’d rather have coffee now and worry about the frighteningly good timing of Otabek’s offer later. “Never mind, I’ll be over in five.”  

 

* * *

 

Hades locks on to Persephone’s docking station with a groan that is frankly obscene.

 

“Oh my god!” Yuri exclaims, reaching up to cover his ears even though he knows full well that the sound is coming through his remote nav cable. “Can you _please_ keep your filthy ship sex to yourself?”

 

He can practically hear Hades shuddering with laughter as the docking station pressurizes and the doors slide open to let Yuri board.

 

Otabek is waiting on the other side of the dock, already holding two steaming mugs. “Welcome to Persephone,” he says with a small smile, holding out a mug for Yuri to take.

 

Yuri eagerly accepts the drink with both hands, eyes fluttering closed as he inhales the sweet aroma. “Fuck, this is the real stuff isn’t it? Not even freeze dried.”

 

“I did promise you the best coffee this side of the astro belt,” Otabek reminds him as he guides him through to kitchen area. “Caffeine is one of the few things I think it’s worth spending credits on.”

 

“Definitely,” Yuri agrees, sipping at the steaming drink and letting out a moan that rivals Hades.

 

“Fuck, this is good.”

 

“Glad you think so,” Otabek says, sitting down on one side of the small table and pushing a metal box over to Yuri’s side. “Biscuit?”

 

“I take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about you,” Yuri replies fervently as he plucks a biscuit from the tin. He almost whimpers as he sees the layer of chocolate - real chocolate! - coating the surface.

 

“You said bad things about me?” Otabek’s voice is mock offended, and Yuri can’t help rolling his eyes as he chomps his way through his biscuit.

 

“Careful, I’m more than willing to start again if I need to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always loved and appreciated. I'm also on [Tumblr](http://sparrow30.tumblr.com/), come say hi!


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